A front came through and I thought the tent, parts, nearby planes and us would all be swept away by the driving rain. Everything was totally soaked. Should I take the pictures off? The parts and everything about Rotec seems excellent to me I'd hate to give any other impression.

It was pretty interesting but slightly scary being in the midst of a bunch of things designed to become airborne in wind. It started blowing from the west, increased in speed, then rain blew in hard and it suddenly changed directions as the front moved by and the rain came in the tent from the other side. Some planes were flipped but I guess the tornado in Sun and fun was worse.

Nice to see some interest! Thanks guys! Admittedly (embarrassingly? ) this year there has been very little progress on the project. Feb to April I was on a contract, May OFF, June to September I was on a contract, and now with a recent purchase of a home, my life is in boxes -- which includes my tools and project

I will move into the new place 01 FEB and will have a dedicated single car garage shop ... which I can't wait to show you guys!! I will see if I can scrounge up the elevators for a picture. Nothing too exciting those, as they are still in the blue and cleco'd -- waiting to be torn down, deburred, primed, and riveted.

I do plan on deviating a bit from the plans for the trim tab. If you take a look at the left elevator, inboard where the trim tab will be, there are "tabs" that need to be bent 90 degrees inwards, and blind riveted. I plan on cutting those off and bucking a "riblet" in there. Guys are having a lot of trouble with this simple bend and are cracking the skins -- I will avoid this issue all together this way. The trim tab end ribs as per plans are done the same way, with 2 90 degree bends where the skin overlaps and it is to be blind riveted ... again, I ordered some extra ribs to create riblets so as to avoid having to re-build a trim tab.

Mr Oake, thanks for the updates. I've been a fan of the RV 8 for a long time, especially the dual baggage space and long range tank option as well as the ease of construction, so this spring I bought the preview plans, got my builders number, ordered the tool box and aileron practice kits and started to collect tools. Short of a suitable compressor, some riveting tools I am almost ready for the tail kit this spring.

For speed, range and simplicity I'm going with a fixed pitch prop, tip tanks and glass.

Before I buy I would like to fly, as well as have some support in my home province. I plan to take the trip to the factory and fly the demo this winter but if there are any Alberta based RV-8 owners who would like some free gas and have some time to chat about your build, I would love to meet up. There is no better info than info form another builder. Hopefully I can avoid a couple of the typical rookie mistakes.

Well I'll have to be the one to say good decision Adam. With the price of fuel, the cost of aircraft engines, and the uncertainty of the future of both, I'd say you've made a sound financial call. As you're probably discovering trying to sell the tools and kit, you can never get the money out of an aircraft that you put into it.

So many airplanes out there not being flown enough, find one of them and fly that or just rent from the local school.

Thanks guy! Between work planes and the boss's ~10 (depending on the year) private planes that we get to play with, I have many fun planes to fly for recreational purposes. I also don't see leaving the cadet gliding program any time soon ... that is one hobby that I thoroughly enjoy as well. Now that I'm well established in the industry, I now know that there will always planes available to play with ... even when you are not looking! For the amount of flying that I do in the off season, ownership would not be a reasonable option.

I learned a TON working on this project, and I still find joy in tinking away at it. Many of the skills gained are transferable, and I do not regret investing the time and money into the project! I now am looking at the long term of how I will keep sinking money into it over the years ... maybe I'll fire up another project when I'm free and clear of a mortgage

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